The principles of the present invention are useful in machines requiring spring-loaded sliding bushing. One such machine is an electrophotographic printer. Electrophotographic printing is a well-known and commonly used method of copying or printing documents. Electrophotographic printing is performed by exposing a light image representation of a desired document onto a substantially uniformly charged photoreceptor. In response to that image the photoreceptor discharges so as to create an electrostatic latent image of the desired document on the photoreceptor's surface. Toner particles are then deposited onto that latent image so as to form a toner image. That toner image is then transferred from the photoreceptor onto a substrate such as a sheet of paper. The transferred toner image is then fused to the substrate, usually using heat and/or pressure. The surface of the photoreceptor is then cleaned of residual developing material and recharged in preparation for the production of another image.
Electrophotographic printers are comprised of a large number of individual components, including numerous mechanical devices. One such mechanical device is a sliding bushing. A sliding bushing is usually an assembly comprised of two separate parts, a movable bushing that retains a rotating shaft and a spring that mates with the bushing such that the bushing and the shaft are biased in an axial direction by the spring. In operation the rotating shaft is forced along an axis by an external actuator, the shaft moves, thereby moving the bushing in the axial direction, and the moving bushing stores energy in the spring. When the external actuator releases the shaft the energy stored in the spring moves the bushing and the shaft back to a predetermined position.
While sliding bushing and their applications are well known, they usually must be assembled from constitute parts. Such assembly is expensive, time consuming, and sometimes difficult. Therefore, a new type of sliding bushing that does not require assembly of individual components would be beneficial.